Change of Pace Read online

  “Oh, no! Laurel!” Sophie protested when Laurie made her way over to the old man. “Are you out of your mind? That sack has to weigh at least forty pounds! Leave this to -” She glanced at Evan and stopped herself.

  To whom? Evan wondered. She had a feeling Sophie hadn’t finished her sentence because she had suddenly remembered that Evan was a girl and not Laurie’s boyfriend. She probably thinks I’m the “man” in the relationship. Evan rolled her eyes.

  “To whom?” Laurie asked. “To Evan? Grandmother, she’s not the hired help just along to do the heavy lifting. She’s my girlfriend, and it would be nice if you treated her accordingly.”

  Her whole life, Evan had always taken care of herself. She never needed a champion to defend her. Still, having the usually timid Laurie stand up to her strict grandmother because of her felt unexpectedly good.

  Sophie stared at her. “Don’t talk to me in that tone, Laurel Matheson!”

  Laurie stared back, clearly surprised by her own daring words.

  Evan stepped next to Laurie. She shoved her clenched fists into the pockets of her jeans, trying to control her rising anger. “If you want some respect, you better give us some too!” she said. She had wanted to be polite to Sophie for Laurie’s sake, but enough was enough.

  “She’s right about that,” the old man said. He gave a grateful nod to Laurie, who had heaved the sack into the trunk of his car.

  Sophie shot him a stern glance. “I suggest you mind your own business. This is a family affair.”

  The old man patted Laurie’s arm and got into his car.

  “That was rude, Grandmother,” Laurie murmured. She glared at Sophie for a moment before she looked away.

  She got you there! Evan grinned. Guess that refined Matheson politeness only goes as far as it serves your purposes, huh?

  Sophie said nothing. She was strangely quiet on the way to the car.

  For a moment, Evan allowed herself to fantasize about leaving Sophie behind in the parking lot, but she knew Aiden had entrusted the car to her and that included being responsible for all the passengers, as annoying as one of them might be.

  * * *

  By the time they reached the apartment, Sophie was exhausted, confused, and ready to take the next plane home. Every member of her family was suddenly rebelling, and Sophie felt as if her whole world was crumbling.

  When she entered the living room, yet another female moving helper had arrived. A slender, elegantly dressed woman with flowing black hair was hanging an oil painting of sunset over the Willamette River on its new place over the couch.

  Sophie stared at the woman and the painting. “Isn’t that Maggie Forsyth?” she asked Mrs. Kinsley, who was walking around, giving out pizza on paper plates to the helpers.

  Mrs. Kinsley offered her a paper plate, but Sophie shook her head. “Yes. She came over to bring a moving-in present for Dawn and Aiden.” Mrs. Kinsley nodded at the painting.

  Sophie knew the painting was one of Ms. Forsyth’s own. She had seen it at a gallery opening and knew it was worth a few thousand dollars. “That was certainly nice of her. How do you know Maggie Forsyth?” Sophie asked. She hadn’t thought the Kinsleys were supporters of the arts.

  “She’s Dawn’s ex-girlfriend,” Grace Kinsley said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

  “Maggie Forsyth is a lesbian?” Sophie said louder than she had intended.

  Maggie Forsyth turned around and smiled at her. “Yes, I am,” she said with a wink and turned back around.

  Sophie blinked, mortified. “Everyone here seems so at ease with it. Even your daughter’s ex-husband is here to help her move in with a woman!”

  Mrs. Kinsley smiled. “Well, Cal wasn’t exactly happy to find out his ex-wife is a lesbian. He gave her a hard time about it at the beginning. But he was my son’s best friend, almost a second son to my husband and me, and a great friend to Dawn for a lot of years before they ever were together as a couple. Deep down, he knows their marriage was a mistake, and he also knows Dawn is still the same, loveable person. She was there for him when his mother died, and she deserves a little help from him now.”

  It all sounded plausible, but still… Sophie shook her head.

  “It didn’t happen overnight,” Mrs. Kinsley told her. “For me, once I got over the shock and confusion, it was an easy choice. I’ve lost one child to a terrible crime, and I knew I didn’t want to lose the other to prejudices or stupid pride.”

  She lost a child? Sophie hadn’t known that. She realized there was a lot about these people that she didn’t know.

  “Just give yourself a little time,” Mrs. Kinsley advised. She patted Sophie’s arm. “And now take a slice of pizza and sit down for a moment while we wait for them to decide if the shelf is straight or not.”

  Straight or not… That seems to be the crucial question these days. With cautious fingers, Sophie took the paper plate Mrs. Kinsley held out to her. “Thank you,” she said politely.

  Mrs. Kinsley smiled. “Anytime.”

  * * *

  “Give me that thing!” Kade demanded, extending her hand in Evan’s direction.

  Aiden stepped between them. “Oh, no. I’ll do this. You stay back.”

  Kade folded her arms across her chest. “You trust my integrity in the courtroom, but you don’t trust me to use a level without cheating?”

  Dawn walked up to the group that had gathered around the shelf. She casually wrapped her arm around Aiden’s waist, getting her to relax. “No arguing on moving day,” she said to both of them.

  Grinning, Del wrapped her arm around Kade’s waist.

  Dawn watched as Kade stiffened for a moment. She knew Kade still wasn’t used to having her personal space invaded and being casually touched on a regular basis. It wasn’t just her hesitation to openly commit to her relationship with a woman. Kade wasn’t used to showing affection, romantic or otherwise, in public.

  After a moment, Kade visibly relaxed and wrapped her own arm around Del.

  Dawn exchanged a quick glance with Aiden and gave her a silent squeeze. “Give me the level,” she said to Evan.

  “Let a neutral person do it,” Kade protested. “You’re on her side.” She pointed an accusing finger at Aiden.

  Dawn wrapped her other arm around Aiden too and enjoyed their closeness for a moment. “I’ll always be on her side,” she said and felt Aiden’s arms pull her even closer. “But in this case, I’m on the side of the tenant who wants to have a straight shelf.” She pointed at herself.

  “Tenant? Singular?” Aiden smiled down at her. “I live here too, remember?”

  “I know.” Dawn couldn’t forget that for a moment. It was what had made her happy for weeks - and also a little nervous. She hoped Aiden would like sharing her life and her home with her and wouldn’t feel cramped.

  “So I’m also interested in having a straight shelf,” Aiden said, letting go with one arm to stroke Dawn’s cheek.

  Kade snorted. “Yes, and you’re also interested in winning the bet.”

  “Bet?” Dawn looked from Kade and Del to Aiden. Sometimes it was hard to believe how competitive this bunch of cops and lawyers was. “You bet on whether the shelf is straight?”

  “Sure,” Aiden said with a grin. “Kade can afford to lose the money, right Kade?”

  “Oh, you can never have too much money,” Kade shot back. “Which is why I’ll be sorry to take your money from you… but I’ll do it anyway.” Her expression was stern, but her eyes were twinkling with amusement.

  Dawn realized that Kade had gotten much more comfortable with being teased in the last few weeks.

  “Jesus Christ!” Evan finally had enough. “No one will get to take any money from anyone if you just stand there and discuss it!” She strode over to the shelf and laid the level down on it.

  “I knew it!” Aiden laughed and spun Dawn around in enthusiastic circles.

  Kade stood staring at the shelf. “I could have sworn it was straight,” she murmured.r />
  Del grinned down at her. “Well, just a while back, you would have sworn that you were straight too.”

  Kade pinched her, making Del yelp. “That’s hardly the same thing.”

  “You’re right,” Del said and gave her a quick kiss. “There’s a big difference - I didn’t care about the shelf.”

  CHAPTER 6

  “I HOPE YOU enjoyed your stay in Portland,” Kadence said, raising her voice a little to be heard over the hustle and bustle in the airport’s ticket lobby. She sounded like a dutiful hotel manager, not like a loving daughter.

  Dawn Kinsley wouldn’t have said good-bye to her mother like this, Sophie thought. She realized she had a big part in establishing the distance between them - and it was up to her to bridge it. “Well,” she said, “it was a nice change of pace.” After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped closer and hugged Kadence, pulling her closer and embracing her longer than she usually did.

  She felt Kadence stiffen in surprise. “Nice change of pace?” Kadence murmured, visibly shocked. “This feels more like a revolution!”

  “Oh, no. It’s not.” Sophie knew she had to be honest with Kadence if she hoped to ever have a better relationship with her. “I don’t want you to think I’m completely at ease with… with your sexual orientation. I’m not Grace Kinsley.” She knew she would never be happy about having a lesbian daughter, but for the first time, she was starting to think the problem might lie with her, not with Kadence.

  “Good,” Kadence said, surprising Sophie, “because I’m not Dawn.”

  “What does that mean?” Sophie asked.

  Kadence shrugged. “I’m not as at ease with my sexual orientation as Dawn is with hers. That doesn’t mean I’m unsure about it. I know that I’m bisexual and that I… have strong feelings for Del. It’s just that openly admitting to something that I’ve denied for so long is still new. I don’t expect you to join PFLAG or to introduce Del as your daughter-in-law at the Matheson clan gathering.”

  PFLAG? Sophie thought but didn’t ask for an explanation. “Good,” she said. “Because I won’t do that anytime soon.”

  “But,” Kadence continued, “what I do expect is a little respect. I won’t let you continue to treat me like some immature teenager who’s just going through the latest fad and will soon change her mind. And I don’t want you to make me feel like the black sheep of the family who is doing this just to spite you.”

  For the first time in years, Kadence had told her what she wanted from her. “I’ll try,” Sophie promised.

  * * *

  “This was the last one.” Aiden folded up the empty moving box and looked around the new apartment. It had been two days since they had moved in, but it was still a little hard to believe that she now shared a home with Dawn.

  “Yeah,” Dawn said. “Let’s christen the new kitchen.”

  Aiden raised a suggestive eyebrow.

  “Not like that.” Dawn laughed. “I’m hungry and still a little unsettled in the new apartment, and I know cooking always calms me down, so let’s cook something.”

  Good to know that she’s feeling a little off balance too. Moving in together had been a big step for Aiden, and she was glad she was not the only one who was a little nervous about it. “If you cook, I’ll clean up,” Aiden bargained. She wasn’t a good cook but didn’t want Dawn to do all the work either.

  “No. Let’s cook together,” Dawn insisted. “It’ll be fun, and maybe it’ll have a calming effect on you too.”

  Aiden doubted that, but she nodded. “What are we making?” she asked.

  Dawn opened their mostly still empty kitchen cupboards. “Looks like it’s spaghetti with tomato sauce.”

  “Good. Even I can do that.” Aiden took the can of tomatoes. As she positioned the can opener, she looked up and paused. Transfixed, she stood and watched Dawn move around the kitchen.

  Dawn’s hips were softly moving to the sound of the radio in the background while she filled a pot with water. She threw an onion into the air and caught it smoothly. Her slender hands handled the cutting knife with ease. As she bent down to search for a frying pan, her faded jeans tightened, giving Aiden a good look at Dawn’s ass.

  Aiden felt her heart beat a little faster. Dawn’s confident movements had an unexpected eroticism.

  Finally Dawn turned toward her and reached for the can of tomatoes that Aiden held in her hands, still unopened. She gave Aiden a smile when she saw her lean against the kitchen counter. “See? Didn’t I tell you cooking had a calming effect?”

  “Calming effect?” Aiden growled. “Not on me!” She pressed Dawn against the counter and kissed her passionately.

  Dawn wrapped one arm around her, returning the kiss, while her other hand reached behind her to turn off the stove. “Let’s try for that calming effect a little later,” she said breathlessly when they finally came up for air.

  “Not hungry anymore?” Aiden teased, sliding her hands up Dawn’s sides.

  “Dinner can wait,” Dawn decided. Still holding on to Aiden, she directed them out of the kitchen. “The bedroom needs to be christened first.”

  The End

  About The Author

  I GREW UP AMIDST the vineyards and gently sloping hills of southern Germany. I spent most of my childhood with my nose buried in a book, earning me the nickname “professor” before I even finished elementary school. The writing bug bit me at the age of eleven. The very first piece of fiction I ever wrote was a thirty-page western story that I still have somewhere (well-hidden because it alternately makes me cringe and laugh when I read it today). I wrote two dozen mostly novel-length stories (westerns, adventure stories, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction - you name it, I’ve probably written it) in my “baby years” as a writer, but no one but my poor twin sister ever got to read them.

  That changed when I discovered the Internet and the wondrous world of FanFiction and online-stories. My parents belatedly got their wish - I took my nose out of my books and started to spend my time glued to the computer screen instead. Soon after, I wrote my first FanFiction, a Star Trek: Voyager story. Don’t bother to search for it on the web; even if there was still a copy in circulation somewhere, it’s in German. Back then, I would have taken a thousand oaths that I would never, ever be able to write more than a grocery list in English. Then I took an intensive, free online language course - almost eight years of constant fanfic reading. Let’s just say that I learned some words I later had trouble explaining to my friends why I would know such expressions.

  So in the beginning of 2006, I finally put my newly acquired knowledge of the English language to good use and wrote a series of three Law & Order: SVU fanfics in English. As my confidence grew, I wrote a longer FanFiction and then my first English historical fiction. In some ways, I’ve come full circle, because “Backwards to Oregon” takes place on the Western Frontier. Other than the setting I promise that it doesn’t have much in common with my first childish attempt at writing.

  I still live in Germany, where I work as a psychologist. When I’m not working or writing, I like to spend my time reading, cooking for a bunch of friends, spending time with my nephew and niece, and watching way too many crime shows. I also enjoy learning new languages (Russian is my latest project. I haven’t found any lesbian online stories using the Cyrillic alphabet to help me learn though).life.